


older and taller

by mistyheartrbs



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Post-Canon, not really a fix-it because s2 ended so well nothing needed to be fixed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 18:36:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13218711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistyheartrbs/pseuds/mistyheartrbs
Summary: Aqours (or, the remaining members of Aqours) prepare for their first day at Numazu.





	older and taller

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god. oh my god that was such a good finale. i sobbed like a baby. love live was created to specifically make me, personally, suffer in the most inspirational ways possible. 
> 
> anyway, i was thinking about the regina spektor song that also happens to lend this fic its title and how i needed to write lls one last hurrah before i went back to the 80s au and my original works, and i was thinking about how this song's always been so closely connected with lls in my head, so 3.5k words later here it is! rounding off 2017 with some fresh starts. 
> 
> thank you, love live.

"Hey! Hey, Masutake, slow down! Yeesh, you're even faster than your mom- whoops, sorry there!" Chika raced through the inn with a tiny sailor uniform clutched in her hands, trying (and failing) to chase down the puppy it was supposed to belong to. "You-chan meant something when she gave this to me to give to you, 'kay? You could at least respect that!" 

_"Myap!"_ Masutake barked. Chika groaned. 

"We're gonna be late because of you," she scolded, dusting off her uniform. It still felt too stiff on her body, like it belonged to someone else. She was just about to wrangle Masutake into the uniform when something caught her eye and sent her dashing for the other end of the yard. That something, as it turned out, was Riko. 

"Oh, Chika-chan?" she said, holding Masutake's sibling in her arms. "I think Maitake snuck under the fence again." 

"Yep." 

"Do you need help with that one?" Setting down Maitake, always the calmer of the two, Riko placed a tentative hand on Masutake's head and started scratching it. "Why do you even need to put her in that?" 

"I wanted to get a picture for the third- I mean, Mari and Kanan and Dia-san. It's only been a month, but these two have already grown so big." 

"They're going to be as big as their mom soon," Riko murmured. Shiitake herself sat proudly in her doghouse, opening one sleepy eye.

"Urgh, don't remind me. Mom keeps telling me that we don't have room for three huge dogs running around, but I can't bear to separate them." Chika looked up at Riko, self-consciously running a hand through her hair as she crouched to help with Masutake. "You should've waited and adopted one of these guys, if you were gonna change your tune about dogs all of a sudden." 

"I would've! I just came home one day and there she was, sitting on my bed with a big bow around her neck." 

"Anyway, I think that's just about perfect, right?" Chika sat back and admired her handiwork, Masutake shifting uncomfortably in the little uniform. "Keep her right here, I'll get my phone out. We should get going after that, You-chan's gonna meet us at the bus stop." 

"You thought of everything, hmm?" Riko kept a firm hand on Masutake's back while Chika took the photo. Chika smiled fondly at her screensaver - all nine members of Aqours, paint-stained and laughing together on Uranohoshi's last formal day. 

"Kanan says I've gotta be more responsible now that I'm a third-year." 

"Responsible? Really?" Riko's eyes glinted with a mischievous spark that hadn't been there before, that Chika wouldn't have expected to see in a million years that first day they met on the dock. 

"Hey, who led us to the Love Live championships?" 

"All of us." 

"I guess you've got a point there." Chika stood up and let Masutake go, where she scampered off to the safety of the doghouse. "Okay, let's head off." 

"To a new start?" 

"I guess you could say that." 

***

It was hard to keep up with Chika as she ran and ran to the bus stop, only ever pausing when she stopped by the beach to wave at the big red-pink flag billowing majestically in the wind. 

"Chika-chan!" Riko called after her, panting and pulling up the straps of her bag. "Could you slow down a bit? We're going to be early at this rate!" 

"We can't risk missing You-chan!" Chika yelled back, but she slowed her pace nonetheless. Riko started to relax, only for Chika to grab her hand and start down the road again. "C'mon, let's keep going!" 

Riko couldn't say that she minded it, the feeling of Chika's hand in hers, their brand-new uniforms softening just a tiny bit with each step. A familiar face soon greeted the two of them with her signature salute. 

"Oi, Chika-chan! Riko-chan! The bus is gonna be here any minute, what took you two so long?" 

"Your gift to Masutake, for one," Chika teased her. "I guess puppies don't take too kindly to being forced into clothes, huh?" 

"I could've told you that," Riko huffed. 

"Well, anyway, it's bound to be an adventure, huh?" The wind sailed through, carrying the scent of the ocean with it. You crossed her arms, breathing it in. "Maybe I'll meet some cute girls there." 

"Quite the ladykiller, are we, You-chan?" Chika flashed her a grin, and Riko felt like she was somehow intruding on something. 

"Hey, some girls might have a thing for sailors." 

"Whatever you say, Captain." 

"Save the nautical talk for later, would you?" Riko cut in. "The bus is pulling up. We can't miss it." 

"Hrm, I wonder why nobody else showed up to this stop." Chika looked around, as if expecting the rest of Uranohoshi's former students to round a corner and appear with some motivational speech ready to go. It wouldn't be a surprise, in any case. 

"They all probably tried to get there earlier." Riko stepped on first as the bus's doors shuddered open. Chika didn't move. "Chika-chan?" 

"I wish I could keep walking to school," she murmured. You, already halfway up the step, lowered her head in a sigh. 

"Yeah, me too," she said, then offered Chika a hand. "But hey, we can't do much else, 'kay? So we've just gotta keep looking forward." Riko stretched out her own hand, and together the both of them pulled a sulking Chika onto the bus. "We'll all still be there. Hanamaru-chan and Ruby-chan and Yoshi-" 

"Yohane," Riko cut in, without thinking. Chika gave her a wry look. "She, erm, she's being a bit more insistent on it this year. I think it's more than the fallen angel schtick, this time." 

"Who knows what she's thinking, though?" You slid back in her seat, accidentally almost nudging Riko out into the aisle in the process. It would've been an uncomfortable and frankly kind of odd arrangement for anyone else, especially considering the completely empty bus, but to the three girls it felt _right,_ and Riko wouldn't have had it any other way. 

***

More people filled up the bus as it slowly made its way out of Uchiura and further into the city - students, all of them wearing the same uniforms as Chika, Riko, and You. A few of them waved, asking if they were new this year, and yes, they said, they were, and yes, they said, they were excited to see what Numazu had in store. For the most part, though, they kept to themselves, and that was fine. 

You liked her life, she liked it fine, even when Aqours had thrown everything into brilliant chaos and Chika had fallen for someone else. Still, she was perhaps more excited for the new school than the other two seemed to be. 

_New seas to sail,_ she thought to herself, and she smiled. The bus rumbled to a stop, doors opening again. The three girls all looked down to see another group of strangers pouring in, and then Chika's phone rang. 

"Who'd be calling us this early?" Riko wondered. Chika shrug, answering the call anyway. Mari's face immediately filled up the screen, beaming proudly. 

_"Hello, dearest members of Aqours! Are you having a good morning?"_ Riko leaned over to see better. 

"Isn't it really early in Italy?" she asked. Mari nodded. 

_"Oh, yes. I really shouldn't be awake at all, but hey! What else can I do, hmm? I couldn't just leave my friends hanging on such a crucial day."_

"Thanks?" Chika didn't seem to know how to respond. 

_"Hmmph . . . who's that? Chika?"_ Kanan's unmistakable grunts made their way through the speaker, and then she sat up. With Mari holding her phone further back, You could see that she was in a bed, surrounded by lamps - probably the only way she could see, since it would've been dark there. Kanan shuffled some sheets around before getting any closer. _"You guys really shouldn't have called this early."_

_"No, no, Kanan, I called them!"_

_"It's one in the morning."_

_"So? They're taking a_ monumental step _in their journey! Shouldn't we honor that?"_

_"We could've honored it at a reasonable hour."_

"Kanan!" Chika finally butted in. "You're here too?" 

_"I don't have to start training for my diving license for another few weeks, and I already moved out of my grandpa's place, so Mari offered to let me stay with her for a little while."_

_"I flew her in,_ first-class!" Mari bragged. 

_"I think she just needed the extra help setting up."_

_"Don't embarrass me like this in front of the underclassmen!"_ Mari playfully swatted Kanan on the shoulder, getting a few giggles out of her until they were both laughing hysterically like an old married couple. You felt the need to cough and remind them that she was there. _"Ah, anyway. It's too bad you've got to take the bus, now."_

"That's what I've been saying!" Chika whined. "I know it's all done and we got our closure, but I still miss Uranohoshi." Riko put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We all do," she said. 

_"It's not really gone, though."_ Kanan put a finger to her chin, thoughtful. _"You three are still here, aren't you?"_

"Yeah." 

_"And the fir- second-years, too,"_ Mari added. _"Nobody's going to forget Uranohoshi that easily with all of you around!"_

"Thank you," Chika breathed, and You suddenly realized that she was crying. "Thank you so, so much, thank you for everyth-" 

"They're over here, zura!" Hanamaru stumbled through the aisle, tiptoeing around bags that threatened to spill from seats with Ruby not far behind. "Say, have you seen Yoshiko-chan around?"

"Yohane," Riko said, immediately. "She said she'd walk there." 

"Hmm, that does make sense. She lives closer to that school than she ever did to Uranohoshi." 

_"Oh, is that sweet Hanamaru-chan's voice I hear?"_ Mari crooned. Hanamaru jumped. 

"Mari-san's trapped in the phone, zura!" she screeched, hiding behind Ruby in fear. It was an interesting role reversal, to say the least. "It's okay! I'll save you!" Chika held the phone close to her chest, safe from Hanamaru's desperate attempts to free Mari. 

_"Maru-chan! She's okay!"_ Kanan yelled. Hanamaru stepped back. 

"Kanan-san? You're trapped in there too?"

_"We're both fine. We're just in Italy."_

"Hmm." Hanamaru tapped her foot in thought. "Whoa, you can talk to us from all the way over there? It's-" 

_"The future, zura?"_ Kanan finished. Hanamaru sheepishly nodded. _"It's okay. I mean, it_ is _pretty amazing, being able to talk to you five all the way over here."_

 _"Say, is Ruby-chan there, too?"_ Mari wondered. Ruby hopped up in lieu of an answer. _"Would you put dear Dia on the line, then? I'd imagine she's awfully lonely in Tokyo without any of us there."_

 _"That'll be you in a week,"_ Kanan chided. Mari elbowed her. 

_"Let's not talk about that now, alright?"_

"S-sure, I can put her on!" Ruby squeaked, reaching for her charm-riddled phone and hitting Dia's number into it. 

"This'll be nice," You said. "All nine of us, greeting the future or something like that." Chika's eyes grew wide.

"Yeah," she breathed, gripping her chest like her heart might spill out. "All nine of us." 

"Is she there yet?" Riko asked. Ruby wrinkled her brow in focus. 

"She's not picking up," she said. "Wait, here she is!" 

_"Ruby?"_ Contrary to Mari and Kanan's sleepy faces, Dia was on alert, shaking like she was holding the phone too tightly. _"Ruby! What's wrong? I'll book a flight back to Uchiura if something's wrong- don't let anyone hurt you until I get back and-"_

 _"Dia."_ Mari's voice cut through the bus, sharp and cold. Kanan looked at her in surprise. _"Ruby-chan is right here. We're just doing a nice group call on the bus while these kids get ready for their first day of school. You know, Chika-chan and Riko-chan and You-chan are all third-years now. They're growing up."_

 _"I wish I didn't know that."_ Dia let out a long sigh. _"How close are you to the campus?"_

"Uh, just a few minutes away, I think." Chika scratched the back of her neck, then started pulling at a loose flap of material on the bus seat. "The city kinda looks the same wherever you are in it." Ruby suddenly sat up straight, as if possessed by some demonic force. You's mind flashed to the group's one missing member and she idly wondered if said member had somehow actually learned witchcraft over the short break between school years. 

"It's μ's!" Ruby cried, gripping the back of Chika's seat so fervently that You feared she'd rip it off. "μ's is on the radio! Turn it up, Mrs. Bus Driver, please!" The bus driver - an older woman with a little hat perched on her head - obliged, and soon the music of their predecessors filled up the bus. Dia smiled. 

_"Glad to see you haven't changed too much, Ruby,"_ she murmured. The bus kept driving through the city, but the school seemed no closer. 

_"Ah, you're getting_ sentimental _again,"_ Mari sniffed, but You could see her tearing up, too. _"This is supposed to be a happy day! We all cried last month - at this rate, we'll dry up and get dehydrated!"_

"I t-think it's okay to cry," Chika whimpered. Riko held her arm so tightly it looked like she was about to fall apart, too. "Just a little." 

"Just enough to remember." 

"Yeah." The μ's song faded from the speakers, and the radio announcer's voice replaced it. 

_"Wow, isn't that a blast from the past? Can't believe it's been nearly six years since those crazy cats put out their first single. But hey now, it's the springtime! It's a time for looking out to the future, yeah?"_

_"Those announcers get more and more annoying the more time passes,"_ Dia groaned, rubbing her temples. _"The local radio station ought to get someone who doesn't give everyone a headache."_

_"So, here's a song from our latest Love Live winners, Uchiura's very own Aqours!"_

"It's us!" Ruby screamed, and this time she held onto the back of the seat so tightly that she _did_ topple onto Chika, who didn't even seem to notice for how dazed she was. 

"We're on the radio," she whispered, as if speaking too loudly would disrupt the moment. "We're on the radio, even though you three are so far away." 

"What do you mean, 'we're on the radio?'" a girl sitting across the aisle asked. She peered closer at the little gathering, and realization seemed to dawn on her face. "You're . . . you're them? Aqours?" 

"In the flesh!" Chika proudly proclaimed, clapping a hand over her chest. "Most of us, anyway. Yosh- Yohane-chan's meeting us at the school." 

"Well, nice to meet you, then." The girl stuck out a hand in greeting, and Chika shook it. "Aqours," she laughed to herself. "Who'd have known?" 

"You kids should be getting ready to hop off," the bus driver announced, turning down the song for a moment. "You're the last group I'm dropping off today, you don't want to be late on the first day, do you?" 

"I wouldn't dream of it," Chika solemnly answered, and the other seven members of Aqours burst into giggles. "Hey, what can I say? It's our new school." The sun had long since climbed into the sky, but it seemed to hit the bus just in that moment, casting them all in a warm, wonderful light. Chika wiped away her tear. "We should be excited, right?" 

"Yeah," everyone said in unison, and the Numazu campus came into view. 

"It's not bad," You said, eyeing it thoughtfully. "Kinda big, but that's okay, right?" 

"It means there's more room for new friends!" Chika chirped. Riko laughed. 

"Now, don't go forgetting us for some city girls," she said. Chika planted a kiss on her cheek. 

"I never could." 

"Ooh, I wonder what new books are gonna be in the library," Hanamaru mused, sitting up taller like she could see the library from here. "I can't wait to read all of them." 

"I bet the gym's gonna be _huge!"_ Ruby squeaked. "I can invite Leah over and we can get Saint Aqours Snow up and running!" 

_"You're really doing that?"_ Dia stared up at her from the phone, and for a moment it seemed like the screen had frozen for how stock-still she was. Her face softened, then, and she closed her eyes. _"I'm glad."_

"I mean, it's not going to be _called_ Saint Aqours Snow. We're gonna have a whole new idol group, one that's really really different from both of our old ones! We'll make you proud, Sis!"' 

_"I'm happy to hear it."_

"Okay, kids, get off now, alright?" The bus clanged to a halt. "Good luck." Instantly, the Numazu students all rushed for the door, picking up their bags and everything else that they needed to bring, and soon the only people left on the bus were the five girls and the two phones. 

_"You heard the woman!"_ Mari snapped, without a trace of real anger in her voice. _"Don't be late, or I'll fly back there and scold you all!"_

 _"You'll do great,"_ Kanan added. Chika stood up. 

"We can save the speech for a little later," she said. "We've gotta find Yohane-chan first. That way, we can all head inside together." 

"Knowing her, she probably got stuck in another tree, zura," Hanamaru chuckled. Kanan craned her neck to try and see her from the tiny phone screen.

_"Didn't you say that you two started dating during the break?"_

"We sure did, zura! Doesn't mean I can't keep making fun of her." 

_"They're like a younger us,"_ Mari wistfully sighed, clasping her hands together and nearly dropping the phone in the process. _"Hold us up, okay? I want to see where you'll be spending your time."_

"Roger that!" You gave them both a salute before taking the phone from Chika's hands and waving it around to show off the campus. The five of them stepped off the bus and onto the gravel trail leading up to the main building. Ruby trailed in the back, chattering with Dia about all the ideas she'd had for her new idol group with Leah. 

"Numazu, hmm?" Riko said, her arm still interlocked with Chika's. "It reminds me of Otinokizaka, in a way." 

"Really?" 

"Just the size, really." She paused. "I hope they have a nice piano." 

"Now, where'd Yohane-chan go?" Hanamaru looked around every corner while You showed off the architecture of the buildings. "There aren't any trees for her to get stuck up in, zura." 

_"Down here!"_ Hanamaru stopped. 

"What was that?" 

"It's me, dummy!" 

"Yohane-chan?" 

"Just walk like, three steps to the left, I'm right here!" The rest of Aqours turned their attention to the voice, and soon they found a scruffy Yohane Tsushima curled up in a dirt hole. 

"How'd you get down there?" Chika yelled down, cupping her hands around her mouth. The hole wasn't really all that deep, You noticed, but she supposed that Chika just liked to yell like that. 

"Sometimes a fallen angel such as myself cannot fathom your silly human directions!" Yohane yelled back. Hanamaru gave her a firm glare. "Okay, I was trying to find the orientation building and I wasn't looking where I was going, alright?" 

"And you got stuck?" 

"No, I can climb out fine." To prove her point, Yohane started clambering up, catching fistfuls of dirt in her hands, but she soon slid down back to where she started. "I could get out anytime I wanted! I just, erm, I just like it here." 

"Let me help you, zura." Hanamaru extended a hand, and Yoshiko reluctantly took it. 

"New year, new me, new humiliations," she muttered. "So much for a fresh start." 

"We're all here, aren't we?" Chika beamed, gesturing towards everyone else. Yohane dusted the dirt off her uniform. "C'mon, let's go to the entrance." 

***

Chika thought it funny, how often they all ended up standing in a line like this. It wasn't really something most teenagers did, passing off bits of speeches like a baton as they waited to enter or exit someplace important to them. It was a bit melodramatic, really, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. 

"Ready?" she said, and everyone nodded. 

_"Ready!"_ Kanan, Mari, and Dia added from the phones. They hung up just a second later, leaving one long _beeeeeeeeep_ before the screens went dark.

"To the next adventure," Chika breathed, holding Riko's hand and looking back just one more time. 

She rushed forward.

**Author's Note:**

> _enjoy your youth  
>  sounds like a threat  
> but i will anyway_


End file.
